Important and Rare Delftware Collection at TEFAF Maastricht 2017

AMSTERDAM February 21, 2017 - At TEFAF Maastricht 2017 Aronson Antiquairs will present a spectacularly rare and important collection of Dutch Delftware: The Nijstad Collection and highlights from the Morpurgo Collection.

THE NIJSTAD COLLECTION
The Nijstad family has been deeply wedded to art and antiques for as long as anyone can remember. They channeled this passion into a successful business, decades before Hartog ‘Harts’ and Kitty Nijstad developed a magnificent collection of Dutch Delftware in the twentieth century. Robert Aronson, fifth generation owner of the over 135 year old Dutch firm, has already a long history with the family. He has childhood memories of visiting Mr. and Mrs. Nijstad, who where his father’s colleagues and his grandparent’s dear friends. As Robert Aronson adds “No extravagance. Mr. Nijstad invited us to the study upstairs. There, a large vitrine running from floor to ceiling was remarkably filled entirely with Dutch Delftware”. The collection, which was started by his father Abraham Nijstad, include a pair of boys riding lions made around 1775, and a pair of candlesticks with deer marked for Jan van den Briel, the owner of De Grieksche A (The Greek A) factory from 1768 to 1783, or his widow Petronella van der Laan from 1783 to 1796. An early polychrome money bank, which can be attributed to Jannetge Claesdr. van Straten, widow of Jacob Wemmersz. Hoppesteyn and the owner of Het Moriaenshooft (The Moor’s Head) factory from 1671 until 1686, is also part of this important collection. Robert Aronson, who is grateful to the Nijstad family for the long friendship, is proud and honoured to be given the opportunity to present the Nijstad collection in all its glory.

THE MORPURGO COLLECTION
In addition to the outstanding objects from the Nijstad collection, Aronson Antiquairs will also bring several highlights from the Morpurgo collection. The Morpurgo family is a renowned Amsterdam dynasty in the antiques trade. Four successive generations have contributed their expertise, knowledge, and passion to the industry since the family business was started by Joseph M. Morpurgo in 1869. The Aronson family and the Morpurgo’s also go back several generations. One of their long treasured objects is a plaque attributed to Frederik van Frijtom - who is Holland’s most renowned painter of seventeenth century Delft faience and oils, which can now represented to a new generation of collectors and appreciators.

TEFAF
TEFAF Maastricht is widely regarded as the world's leading fair for art, antiques and design. Featuring 275 prestigious deals from some 20 countries, TEFAF Maastricht is a showcase for the finest art works currently on the market. TEFAF Maastricht's upcoming edition will run from Thursday March 10 through Sunday March 19, 2017.

BACKGROUND
Dutch Delftware has been handmade in Holland for more than 400 years. It began when trade with Italy, Spain and Portugal brought earthenware to the Netherlands. By the seventeenth century the Dutch East India Company had introduced Europe to Chinese porcelain and exports flourished as the West strived to duplicate the Chinese formula for fine blue and white porcelain. When war in China interrupted the trade, potters in Delft expanded their businesses to create earthenware versions of ‘porcelain.’ At the height of production The Guild of Saint Luke counted almost 40 factories in the small city of Delft. They were innovative and adapted to fill the needs of clients all over Europe, with the elegant term ‘faience’ becoming synonymous with ‘delftware.’ The word “Delftware” has long been associated with a visit to Holland.

For over 135 years Aronson Antiquairs has sought to carry the very finest examples of Delft in the full range of forms and patterns, from the extremely rare black Delft to Japanese Imari designs and the instantly recognizable blue and white and Chinoiserie motifs in dishes, figures, vases, bowls and plaque forms. Robert Aronson is chairman of the Royal Dutch Antique Dealers Association and he recently provided sponsorship support to the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague to show a distinguished collection of antique Delft titled “Delftware Wonderware.”

Article Herald Tribune

In case anyone still thinks of antique dealers as being quaint and old-fashioned, that image will be quickly dispelled by an encounter with Robert Aronson, a specialist in Dutch Delftware, Asian art and Continental furniture, at the Aronson Antiquairs stand at Tefaf Maastricht..

Although Aronson is the fifth-generation director of Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam, founded in 1881, there is nothing old-fashioned about him, except perhaps his courtly manners. While only 37, he has worked in the profession for 17 years and has brought the family business firmly into the 21st century, not least with a complete redesign of the gallery’s Web site (www.aronson.com).

“It’s a very sleek extension of the gallery online,” he says. Visitors can buy pieces with price tags of up to €15,000 through the site, a high-tech rarity in the antique world. Fully guaranteed, with packing and insurance included, the pieces available on the Web are of the same quality as those sold in the gallery.

Aronson is also bringing his modern approach to Tefaf Maastricht 2008. He is the first dealer at the fair to equip his stand with environmentally friendly LED lights, which not only use only 20 percent of the energy required by conventional lighting, but also help to lower the temperature in the booth, making it more pleasant for visitors and staff alike.

Those 1,300 LED lights will be shining on an exceptional selection of Delftware that Aronson characterizes as “one of strongest of the last few years.” It includes 15 pieces from the collection of F.H. Fentener van Vlissingen, a Dutch entrepreneur whose collection had disappeared from the market after his death in 1962. Among the highlights is a splendid jug portraying scenes of children playing together, from Het Moriaenshooft (the Moor’s Head), one of the best Delft factories.

In another coup, Aronson is presenting five pieces marked “I.W.,” made by Jacob Wemmersz. Hoppesteyn or his widow, owners of the Moor’s Head factory in Delft from 1664 to 1686.

Since only about 42 pieces bearing this mark are known to exist, bringing five of them together in one place is nothing short of extraordinary, especially since they all came from different sources. One of them, a charger dating from 1680-85, is one of only three known I.W.-marked pieces with polychrome chinoiserie decoration. Priced at €395,000, it will be the centerpiece of the stand.

The gallery’s new publication, “Dutch Delftware 2008,” containing details of the entire 97 pieces in the new collection, will be available as a gift to Tefaf visitors. In another example of Aronson’s high-tech approach to antiques, the 128-page full-color catalogue was printed in Belgium using high-definition technology, which greatly improves both the detail and the depth of the illustrations.

Yet another up-to-date innovation is the gallery’s new advertising campaign, “Share the Emotion.” Instead of the conventional approach of concentrating on the objects themselves, it puts the focus on personal relationships, showing the gallery’s staff interacting with clients. “The objects really only come alive when the story behind them is shared,” says Aronson.

Event Details

TEFAF, organizers of the art event of the year, TEFAF Maastricht, which takes place in the Netherlands on an annual basis in March, came to the U.S. for the first

Event Details

TEFAF, organizers of the art event of the year, TEFAF Maastricht, which takes place in the Netherlands on an annual basis in March, came to the U.S. for the first time in October 2017. The May event will focus on the 19th and 20th century, while the October event focusses on classical antiques. Aronson took part in the inaugural event with great enthusiasm and success and looks forward to the upcoming years.

Event Details

TEFAF, organizers of the art event of the year, TEFAF Maastricht, which takes place in the Netherlands on an annual basis in March, came to the U.S. for the first

Event Details

TEFAF, organizers of the art event of the year, TEFAF Maastricht, which takes place in the Netherlands on an annual basis in March, came to the U.S. for the first time in October 2017. The May event will focus on the 19th and 20th century, while the October event focusses on classical antiques. Aronson took part in the inaugural event with great enthusiasm and success and looks forward to the upcoming years.

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The Winter Antiques Show marks its 63rd year as the most prestigious antiques show in America, featuring the “best of the best” from antiquities through the 1960s. Held at the

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The Winter Antiques Show marks its 63rd year as the most prestigious antiques show in America, featuring the “best of the best” from antiquities through the 1960s. Held at the historic Park Avenue Armory in New York City, the Show provides curators, established collectors, dealers, design professionals and first-time buyers with opportunities to view and purchase exceptional pieces showcased by 73 exhibitors. One-third of the Show’s exhibitors are specialists in Americana, with the rest featuring English, European, and Asian fine and decorative arts.

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TEFAF Maastricht is universally regarded as the world’s leading art fair, setting the standard for excellence in the art market. The Fair truly is an event not to be missed

Event Details

TEFAF Maastricht is universally regarded as the world’s leading art fair, setting the standard for excellence in the art market. The Fair truly is an event not to be missed by collectors and museum representatives.

Presenting 275 of the world’s leading galleries from 20 countries, TEFAF Maastricht is a continuously evolving showcase for the best works of art currently on the market. In addition to the traditional areas of Old Master Paintings and antique Works of Art, you can see and buy at TEFAF Maastricht a wide variety of Classical Modern and Contemporary Art, as well as Jewellery, 20th Century Design and Works on Paper.

TEFAF Maastricht is unequalled in its level of quality and in the methods it employs to establish and guarantee the authenticity of every painting and object on offer. Participating dealers are admitted only after a strict selection process. TEFAF Maastricht’s ground breaking vetting system involves no fewer than 175 international experts in 29 different categories, who examine every work of art in the Fair for quality, authenticity and condition, ensuring that you can buy with the greatest possible confidence.

AS PRINCIPAL SPONSOR OF THE DELFTSAARDEWERK.NL WEBSITE, THE EXHIBITION DELFTWARE WONDERWARE, AND THE ACCOMPANYING PUBLICATION, WE ARE APPRECIATIVE OF THE MARVELLOUS COOPERATION WITH THE GEMEENTEMUSEUM, THE HAGUE.

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